Say Yes to Dinner With the Girls: Why Hanging With Pals May Help You Slim Down (Really)

Last night I had dinner out with one of my best friends. It was one of those small-plate restaurants where you order a bunch of plates and share. Well, we ordered a table-full of great food, had some wine, and laughed and talked late into the evening. But wait, could all this food and fun have a positive effect on my waistline? Yes, say researchers...

The secret to weight loss? Exercise and eating right, yes. But it also may have something to do with hanging out with friends and having fun! According to a new study published in the journal Cell Metabolism, mice who were put in more "socially engaging" environments lost more fat than those who were in lonelier conditions.

Interestingly, in the study, mice who hung out with their rodent pals lost more of the white "bad fat" in their bodies, and utilized more of the brown "good fat." A quick refresher on brown fat (which sounds kind of gross, I know) from TIME: "Brown fat cells contain dark-colored energy-burning mitochondria, which use up calories instead of storing them --their primary purpose is to regulate body temperature by burning energy for heat."

So, the takeaway here (at least if humans' bodies mimic what mice bodies do, and researchers believe they do) is that hanging out with friends gets our mind and bodies in the right place to be healthy. We operate best when we spend time with people we love. Yes, going on a hike with a pal is probably a healthier choice than a sedentary choice like having dinner out, but it's still a step in the right direction. Friends = good health.

Do you find that you've been too busy to make time for friends? When you're stressed out, do you turn to friends for support, or push them aside because you feel too busy?